Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s RJ Hampshire came into Daytona looking to turn his early season struggles around. Unable to defend his 250SX West title due to off-season wrist surgery, RJ came into Tampa underprepared. A 17th at the opener added insult to injury and although his third in Detroit was a decent rebound, it increased his point deficit to Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Max Anstie to 23 points.
A week off in the series may have been just what Hampshire needed to get back to championship form. He was exceptional all day and night in Daytona, qualifying on pole, winning his heat, and taking his sixth career 250SX victory. The win allowed Hampshire to capitalize on a tough night for championship rivals Anstie and Levi Kitchen, shrinking his points deficit to a much more manageable 14 points.
| Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Tom Vialle | Avignon, France  | 180 |
| 2 |  Seth Hammaker | Bainbridge, PA  | 177 |
| 3 |  R.J. Hampshire | Hudson, FL | 173 |
| 4 |  Nate Thrasher | Livingston, TN | 137 |
| 5 |  Cullin Park | Clermont, FL | 131 |
For Hampshire, this race was bigger than championship points or win bonuses. After the race, the Florida native reflected on the recent loss of his dad and how Daytona was always his favorite race.
“It’s special,” said Hampshire. “Man, I lost my dad a few months ago, and this was his race. This is the only race we used to come to. He was here with us today. Some guy came up to us in the pits with one of my dad’s jerseys. I don’t know, it was just special today. I felt good, I had that comfort and that’s what was missing in those first two races. Finally got to burn one down in Daytona! That one was for dad.”
When asked about what made the difference between his Daytona performance and the first two rounds, Hampshire explained: “Just two extra weeks really. I came in and didn’t have too much of an off season, and I knew I would get stronger, so I trusted that. We worked hard after Detroit, I think everyone could tell I was struggling there. It worked well on the Daytona track, and I felt comfortable from press day.”
![Hampshire and Vialle]()
Hampshire and Vialle Align Media ![Hampshire takes the win!]()
Hampshire takes the win! Align Media ![]()
Align Media ![RJ Hampshire celebrates with one of his daughters.]()
RJ Hampshire celebrates with one of his daughters. Align Media
He talked about how his wrist surgery affected his bike setup coming into round one.
“It’s a combination of a lot of things; the bike setup helps a lot,” Hampshire admitted. “But that’s on me, I set up my bike to jump whoops because with my wrist I couldn’t blitz whoops. I set my bike up to do corners, and that crash at Tampa, that’s kind of what bit me, my forks were too soft. Then we tried to find some comfort in Detroit, and we didn’t find it. Then you’re testing on race day and that’s not good. I still think I’ll get stronger and better now. That’s what you guys saw today, I had more strength.”
It's been a bizarre start to the 250 East Division Championship when it comes to red flags in main events. Daytona saw the third staggered restart in as many races. RJ discussed the red flag situation saying, “It sucks to have these red flags, seeing Levi go down like that was definitely hard. It’s just part of it and I’ve actually yet to have one of these red flags go in my favor. Plus, we lost the two laps we did after he crashed so we’re going longer than our regular main event.”
Daytona was the first time we saw the defending champions, Hampshire and Red Bull KTM’s Tom Vialle, go head-to-head for a main event win.
“We actually battled in Detroit quite a bit also. I feel like that’s going to be the rest of the season,” RJ said about the battle with Vialle. “I mean we’re both pretty good starters and close in speed. We race each other hard but both of us are clean also. It’s fun, it’s good for the fans, and it’s a pretty cool story.”
Next weekend is the first of three East/West Showdown of the season. Hampshire went 1-2 in the two showdowns last year and those two races were arguably what won him the title. With both championships far from decided, Indianapolis is sure provide some sort of craziness and drama that will strongly decide the direction of each title.
